There has never been a shortage of studies of great British admirals of the Napoleonic era. A devoted reader could fill bookcases with biographies of Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson alone, and histories of the numerous naval battles of the long eighteenth century are nearly as prevalent. In the approach to the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, books about admirals and battles flew off printing presses faster than could be read. All the same, over the last three decades, the niche field of naval history has produced ever-increasing numbers of historical studies of administration, logistics, manpower, and social interactions within the eighteenth-century Royal Navy. These studies have sought to understand how the British navy worked and functioned at a time of rapid expansion, and in dealing with ever more powerful continental adversaries. It is into this atmosphere that John Morrow has published a new and unique study, British Flag Officers in the French Wars, 1793–1815: Admirals’ Lives.

Morrow's book returns the historiography to a more traditional topic of naval history, that of the admiral. However, unlike the very long and sometimes distinguished list of authors that wrote before him, Morrow has chosen to examine the profession of the flag officer. In doing so, he has brought light to the fact that the job of an admiral was not primarily concerned with fleet battle, even if it is what many or most wished to do. Morrow brings to light that out of the 323 British admirals to serve between 1793 and 1815, only about 10 percent ever commanded a fleet in battle, a fact that would be hard to detect from the extensive historiography on Nelson and his fellow flag officers of the era. In fact, major commands circulated among a small number of trusted flag officers. Many admirals found themselves unemployed and ashore. For some this was unacceptable, and they constantly sought employment from the Admiralty. For others, this was an acceptable form of retirement.

As this book clearly brings out, the reality was that the day-to-day job of an admiral was laborious paperwork. The logistical challenges of keeping the Royal Navy fully mobilized in multiple theaters across the globe were massively stressful and took their toll. Admirals who were employed at sea were often put in situations where they were financially liable for the supplies required to keep their fleets at sea and on station. Beyond the stress of keeping their fleets logistically whole, admirals also had to juggle a series of complex and fragile relationships, such as with the Admiralty and Navy board, superiors with unique and complex personalities, peer officers in both the Army and Navy (as well as those of other countries), and inferior officers. All of this was further complicated by the complex system of peerage and patronage. Add to this the possibility of vast financial gains through prize money and it is not surprising to find that protracted and expensive disputes and paper wars between flag officers were common.

It is refreshing that Morrow has not overrepresented individual admirals, such as Nelson and his band of brothers, in this book. Admiral St. Vincent probably receives more attention than anyone else does. Although Morrow admits that St. Vincent was overbearing, authoritarian, relentless, and not above ruining the careers of his juniors, Morrow may still come off as a bit of an apologist here. He is not as critical of Admiral St. Vincent as are many other historians, giving him leeway as the head of a new generation of flag officer seeking a more systematic (read modern) approach to flag command, thus paving the way for Nelson and his generation.

For Morrow, this book is a self-described labor of love. It is also Morrow's first plunge into naval history, as his background is in political thought. Even so, he has produced a book of careful and intensive historical work, with source material originating from more than a dozen archives. The writing is elegant and easy to access for readers who are not dedicated scholars of naval history.

There are a few minor issues with the book. The chapter layout can be a bit confusing. Chapters 2, 4, and 6 feel as though they should be consecutive. They respectively deal with command authority, relationships between admirals and subordinates, and how admirals dealt with mutiny—topics that would flow naturally together. On the opposite side, chapters 7 and 8, 9 and 10, and 11 and 12 are clearly written as couplets, working well together to define the complex topics. There are also a few points where repetition is noticeable, and Morrow will likely get some push back on his defense of St. Vincent. However, these are very minor niggles.

Is this book worth reading? Absolutely, yes. The hardback is a bit expensive, but the paperback is reasonably priced. This book provides a refreshing new look at the profession of flag officers at the pinnacle of the age of sail, and it reminds us that the job rarely, if ever, involved genius and glory in battle. Rather, it required fit minds to understand and cope with the immense logistical, interpersonal, and command challenges that produced mountains of paperwork necessary to administer the Royal Navy. Morrow should be welcomed into the fold of naval historians and congratulated for producing a solid work of naval history.